1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to coaxial connector assemblies in general, and in particular to connector assemblies for terminating an electrical triaxial or twin axial cable of the type having two center connectors encased by dielectric means, a conductive shield, and an outer insulative sheath.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In many electrical interconnection applications multiple transmission paths between electrical instruments is required. For such applications, electrical cables have been developed providing multiple conducting paths and, moreover, providing shielding means for shielding these multiple paths from the influence of electromagnetic interference. One type of cable, known within the industry as a triaxial cable, comprises a center wire conductor surrounded by first dielectric and braided shield layers, which are in turn surrounded by second dielectric and braided shield layers. A second type of cable, known as a twin axial cable, includes two center wire conductors, a spacing dielectric layer therearound, and an outer shield around the dielectric layer. Use of these cables, however, has been retarded by the industry's failure to develop electrical connectors for inexpensively, yet effectively and easily achieving cable end termination. Consequently, the industry is in need of an electrical connector which is inexpensive to produce, readily assembled, and which can positively terminate a triaxial or twin axial cable. Ideally, one connector should be capable of terminating either a twin axial or triaxial cable at the option of the user, for this capability would greatly recommend standardization of connector parts and thereby reduce the overall cost of the resulting assembly.
The industry's efforts in developing such a connector have been unsuccessful. Many relatively complicated connectors have been proposed for terminating a twin axial or triaxial cable, but no one connector has been achieved which can easily and effectively terminate either, in a given cable size, at the option of the user. A further problem has been that heretofore proposed connector assemblies comprised numerous loose-piece parts intended for assembly by the user using either a soldering or crimping technique, in a time consuming and therefore expensive procedure. One connector, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,701,086, is representative of the prior art and comprises a plurality of components assembled by a relatively complicated procedure. While this connector has been well received by the industry, certain shortcomings prevent the connector from representing an ideal solution to the industry's needs. The connector assembly comprises a relatively large number of assembly components which, because of structural limitations and the method of assembly, do not lend themselves to cost-saving preassembly. Further, effective contact preservation between components of this connector assembly is not automatically assured, but rather depends on preservation of proper tension between assembled components by a threaded housing/coupling nut arrangement.